Creek chieftain reunites with captive he freed

“Curious crowds gathered in the hamlets and towns along the route [of Creek chieftain Alexander McGillivray, traveling from Georgia to New York in 1790 to negotiate a treaty with President Washington]. No incidents marred the journey, although many of the Carolina settlers had suffered from the forays of McGillivray’s warriors.

“Indeed, at Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina, a woman broke from the spectators and approached the chief. Recognizing her as a captive he had freed, McGillivray embraced her tearfully to the applause of the crowd. ‘The meeting was truly affecting,’ recorded [his escort, Colonel Marinus] Willett.”

— From “The chief of state and the chief” by Gary L. Roberts, American Heritage, October 1975